I have a question about this.As I have now finished remodeling the house my girl and the kids are home, hence I lost the room I had my altar in. Now the altar will be in our bedroom, same wall as the head of the bed, I am making a new altar. I am planning on making the sides high enough so that there will be a partition between the bed and the altar. In respect of the Buddha not "seeing" the bed, if that makes sense. I have no where else in the house to put the altar so I'm hoping this will be ok. I'd appreciate any comments from all my friends here.

Thanks

Kindest wishes, Dave

Everyday problems teach us to have a realistic attitude.They teach us that life is what life is; flawed.Yet with tremendous potential for joy and fulfillment.~Lama Surya Das~

If your path teaches you to act and exert yourself correctly and leads to spiritual realizations such as love, compassion and wisdom then obviously it's worthwhile.~Lama Thubten Yeshe~

One whose mind is freed does not argue with anyone, he does not dispute with anyone. He makes use of the conventional terms of the world without clinging to them~The Buddha~

Profile Picture: "The Foaming Monk"The Chinese characters are Fo (buddha) and Ming (bright). The image is of a student of Buddhism, who, imagining himself to be a monk, and not understanding the true meaning of the words takes the sound of the words literally. Likewise, People on web forums sometime seem to be foaming at the mouth. Original painting by P.Volker /used by permission.

Thanks for the replies.Padma, I thought that the statues and stupas, as well as the Dharma text were to be considered Holy objects that deserve respect. I take it as it is stuff, in a store until you purchase it and it has been placed in a place of respect. But then again, that's just a new comers understanding I guess.

Adamantine, thank you

Kindest wishes, Dave

Everyday problems teach us to have a realistic attitude.They teach us that life is what life is; flawed.Yet with tremendous potential for joy and fulfillment.~Lama Surya Das~

If your path teaches you to act and exert yourself correctly and leads to spiritual realizations such as love, compassion and wisdom then obviously it's worthwhile.~Lama Thubten Yeshe~

One whose mind is freed does not argue with anyone, he does not dispute with anyone. He makes use of the conventional terms of the world without clinging to them~The Buddha~

The Seeker wrote:Thanks for the replies.Padma, I thought that the statues and stupas, as well as the Dharma text were to be considered Holy objects that deserve respect. I take it as it is stuff, in a store until you purchase it and it has been placed in a place of respect. But then again, that's just a new comers understanding I guess.

Adamantine, thank you

Kindest wishes, Dave

Yes, you are right.It depends on you, what you feel about it in terms of respectfulness

Profile Picture: "The Foaming Monk"The Chinese characters are Fo (buddha) and Ming (bright). The image is of a student of Buddhism, who, imagining himself to be a monk, and not understanding the true meaning of the words takes the sound of the words literally. Likewise, People on web forums sometime seem to be foaming at the mouth. Original painting by P.Volker /used by permission.

Everyone goes at it a little differently. Some have no altar at all, some get pretty elaborate. I seem to recall Lama Zopa having a setup that occupied pretty much his whole living room, and I'm sure it was all just so.

What you describe seems just fine to me. If you have valuable books on your altar, you might consider wrapping them in cloth, especially if they are near a window. Direct sunlight can make cornflakes out of a book in a few years.

Thank you cat, and I'll bet Lama Zopa did have it just so.As to the Dharma texts on the altar they will be wrapped in a yellow cloth, in the book I got from FPMT on setting up an altar and water bowl offerings, it says that the texts should be wrapped as such.

Kindest wishes, Dave

Everyday problems teach us to have a realistic attitude.They teach us that life is what life is; flawed.Yet with tremendous potential for joy and fulfillment.~Lama Surya Das~

If your path teaches you to act and exert yourself correctly and leads to spiritual realizations such as love, compassion and wisdom then obviously it's worthwhile.~Lama Thubten Yeshe~

One whose mind is freed does not argue with anyone, he does not dispute with anyone. He makes use of the conventional terms of the world without clinging to them~The Buddha~

The Seeker wrote:Thanks for the replies.Padma, I thought that the statues and stupas, as well as the Dharma text were to be considered Holy objects that deserve respect. I take it as it is stuff, in a store until you purchase it and it has been placed in a place of respect. But then again, that's just a new comers understanding I guess.

Sometimes, we don't have the opportunity to place an altar in the most advantageous spot.My wife is a Roman Catholic, and I have taken my Refuge Vows first from a Theravadan Monk,and again from a Tibetan Monk. We respect each others spiritual views, so I would not impose my altar on her by setting it up in, if you will, a "public" area of our home.

So I have placed my altar in my home-office, where I also sit meditation. You just do whateverworks for you and your situation. I know a few people who do not even have the space for analtar, and use a simple travel altar when they practice/meditate.

Now having obtained a precious human body,I do not have the luxury of remaining on a distracted path.~ Tibetan Book of the Dead

I used to live in a one room apartment (3 if you count the tiny bathroom and kitchen), so everything was in one room. These days i also keep a shrine (altar) in a place in the house that is my personal area, rather than in the general living area, as my spouse is not a dharma person, and neither of us wants to have to explain to everybody who comes over, or cause anyone to feel uncomfortable.

Some people keep their shrines in cabinets with doors that close.You might want to explore that option.

If you MUST engage in more 'intimate' activity, in a room where Buddha sits, at least make sure he's got a good seat.

Profile Picture: "The Foaming Monk"The Chinese characters are Fo (buddha) and Ming (bright). The image is of a student of Buddhism, who, imagining himself to be a monk, and not understanding the true meaning of the words takes the sound of the words literally. Likewise, People on web forums sometime seem to be foaming at the mouth. Original painting by P.Volker /used by permission.

"But if you know how to observe yourself, you will discover your real nature, the primordial state, the state of Guruyoga, and then all will become clear because you will have discovered everything"-Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche

yeaaaah...ok..I get that. I was just wondering why that is considered bad?

"But if you know how to observe yourself, you will discover your real nature, the primordial state, the state of Guruyoga, and then all will become clear because you will have discovered everything"-Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche

"All memories and thoughts are the union of emptiness and knowing, the Mind.Without attachment, self-liberating, like a snake in a knot.Through the qualities of meditating in that way,Mental obscurations are purified and the dharmakaya is attained."

It's just stuff, but we impute stuff with meaning, because in our minds, some stuff is more important to us than other stuff. If you have a dharma book, or a rupa (statue) or Buddha image or your teacher's picture, or something like this,you have already sort of 'invested' a kind of meaning to it, a special regard for what it is.That is the frame of mind you are using, and that frame of mind is the tool you are using. So, there has to be some consistency in your attitude about things.What that consistency looks like to you, is up to you.

There is nothing bad bout sex, but some people feel that, for instance, the dining room table is not an appropriate location, because we associate that space with eating food. So, it is sort of like this.

Things are relative. This reminds me of something I encountered a couple of years ago.I was in a bookstore in Taiwan and the floor in the kids book section was raised up a little bit, and the floor was different. people took off their shoes before stepping up into that section. I asked my friend why people did this, since they were already inside the bookstore wearing shoes anyway.

He explained that this section was "inside the inside", meaning that relatively compared to that kids book section, the rest of the store was "outside". And you always take off your shoes when going from outside to inside.

So, maybe the bedroom is not the best place to set up a shrine, but having a shrine in the bedroom is different than making out in a shrine room.But then , getting mushy in a shrine room is different than getting shiny on a mushroom....

Profile Picture: "The Foaming Monk"The Chinese characters are Fo (buddha) and Ming (bright). The image is of a student of Buddhism, who, imagining himself to be a monk, and not understanding the true meaning of the words takes the sound of the words literally. Likewise, People on web forums sometime seem to be foaming at the mouth. Original painting by P.Volker /used by permission.

PadmaVonSamba wrote:If nobody had ever mentioned it to you, it wouldn't have mattered.

There is nothing bad bout sex, but some people feel that, for instance, the dining room table is not an appropriate location, because we associate that space with eating food. So, it is sort of like this.

So, maybe the bedroom is not the best place to set up a shrine, but having a shrine in the bedroom is different than making out in a shrine room.But then , getting mushy in a shrine room is different than getting shiny on a mushroom....

What????? The dining room table is off limits?And yup, mushy is different than shiny Thanks for your insight on this whole matter though. You've made me think about things in different aspects.

Namdrol wrote:People screw in their bedrooms

Umm if the kids ain't around then anywhere seems to work well, especially the really big comfey couch

I'll add doors to the altar I'm making as I am still in the process of constructing it. Also I really have no other place in our house but the bedroom. My girl is not a Dharma person either, but respects what I do and I also agree that in the living room may make others feel uncomfortable.

Thanks for all the replies and some good laughs.

Kindest wishes, Dave

Everyday problems teach us to have a realistic attitude.They teach us that life is what life is; flawed.Yet with tremendous potential for joy and fulfillment.~Lama Surya Das~

If your path teaches you to act and exert yourself correctly and leads to spiritual realizations such as love, compassion and wisdom then obviously it's worthwhile.~Lama Thubten Yeshe~

One whose mind is freed does not argue with anyone, he does not dispute with anyone. He makes use of the conventional terms of the world without clinging to them~The Buddha~